{
  "id": 2889714,
  "title": "Tigers C Eduardo Valencia has once-in-a-lifetime moment with his hero",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/tigers-c-eduardo-valencia-has-once-in-a-lifetime-moment-with-his-hero",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-23T23:06:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tigers-c-eduardo-valencia-once-230646210.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A memorable baseball moment unfolded at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, August 23, when Eduardo Valencia, the young catcher for the Detroit Tigers, met and played against his childhood hero, Salvadore Perez, a designated hitter for the Kansas City Royals. Valencia grew up idolizing Perez, who hailed from the same city of Valencia, Venezuela as he did. The two had crossed paths before, with Valencia even posing for a photo with Perez when he was around 11 years old. As Valencia grew taller than Perez, who stands at 6-2, he continued to study Perez's catching technique and admired his personable demeanor. The two connected over the offseason, with Perez inviting Valencia to work out together. During the game, Perez paid respect to Valencia by tapping his leg and then tapped his chest, saying, \"Keep doing what you're doing. You're a really good hitter. You're a really good player. Just do your best.\" After the game, Valencia took home a jersey signed by Perez, treasuring the moment as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.",
  "summary": "Detroit Tigers catcher Eduardo Valencia grew up idolizing Royals catcher Salvador Perez. On Sunday in Kansas City, he finally met him in person.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}